On this day in 2012, the space probe Voyager I became the first manmade object to leave the Solar System and enter interstellar space. Twenty-three years earlier—to the day—its companion Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune—then, because of Pluto’s eccentric, elongated orbit, the outer most planet.
On the same day in 1981, it had its closest brush with Saturn. All these events coincided with the first demonstration of the telescope in Venice in 1609, pitched as a terrestrial telescope or spyglass, having later realised their potential for use in astronomy, publishing his initial observations in a brief called Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger) on 13 March of 1610, including an account of the Medicean or Cosmica’s Stars that appeared to orbit Jupiter.
Tuesday, 25 August 2020
the stars align
Monday, 24 August 2020
maya hi
Re-sampling will always cast its nets far and wide but we had not beforehand appreciated what a tempting foraging grounds that Soviet pop proofed and proved for Western hip-hop. The juxtaposition is sometimes quite jarring with the underground group Jedi Mind Tricks’ appropriation of People’s Artist of the USSR in 1988 of Edith Piekha’s catchy hit My Neighbour (ะะฐั ะกะพัะตะด).
to live alone in the bee-loud glade
Via Kottke, these superlative entries in the macro category for International Garden Photographer of the Year commended us to one recent snapshot that brought to mind William Butler Yeats’ The Lake Isle of Innisfree. What pictures from your garden are you keen to share? Explore an expansive gallery of many more superb and patient, intimate snapshots at the links up top.
the cogito ergo zoom
Via JWZ, mindful that the upcoming fall semester, however classes are held, will be a challenging one for academics, we appreciated this growing list of cocktails from author and historian Philipp Stelzel. Pictured is the Inaccessible Archive:
6cl gin, 2cl green Chartreuse, 3cl fresh orange juice.
Stir and serve with an orange zest.
The recipe notes that the high cost of Chartreuse is offset by not having to go into the physical archives. The titular drink calls for bourbon, tart cherry juice, bitters and simple syrup. I don’t think precise measurements matter—just maintain the proper ratio. Many more to be found at the links up top.
Sunday, 23 August 2020
process, product, person, place
Via Everlasting Blรถrt, we are directed to the short, animated 1968 film on the nature of creativity, written and directed by Saul Bass (see previously) in collaboration with playwright Mayo Simon. The Oscar winning introductory instalment (unabridged, it was presented in eight parts: The Edifice, Fooling Around, The Process, Judgment, A Parable, Digress, The Search and The Mark) was first screened on the CBS television US news magazine 60 Minutes in September of its premiere year.
norrmalmstorgin pankkiryรถstรถ
On this day in 1973, a bank robbery and ensuing hostage crisis unfolded in Norrmalmstorg Square (also the equivalent of Park Place in the Swedish version of Monopoly) in Stockholm, covered live on television, and documented the counter-intuitive actions of the hostages towards their captors—empathizing with them and working to protect them during a five-day stand-off with authorities. The novelty and sensation also fueled academic interest, with one criminologist coining the term the Norrmalmstorgssyndromet to describe the captives’ bond and sympathies, later becoming known internationally as the Stockholm Syndrome.
oever
From the desk of NPR’s Photo Stories comes this review and curation of a recently published portfolio of four decades of the evocative photography of beachcombing Harry Gruyaert. His compositions frame seaside tableaux from his native Belgium, France, Ireland and dozens of other places and are collected in the new anthology Edges, referencing that liminal divide between shore and sea. Many more postcards from ocean-front holidays at the link above.
where we go one we go all
